New Beginnings at Sparkles Monthly Challenge!

Hello friends!  With January comes a new year and every year people are thinking about everything “NEW” like resolutions, out with old, in with new sort of things.  It seems with cold and snow winter outside; I’ve been doing a majority of my time organizing and figuring out what to toss or keep!  I’m thinking I need a new “for sale page” here on my blog!  I will need to figure that out and update later!

Today brings a new challenge for the start of the year at the Sparkles Monthly Challenge Blog!  For the start of the year and this month’s challenge, we have the theme: NEW BEGINNINGS!  I received a Lawn Fawn gift last year and this is my first time using it for my card today:

Of course, a baby is a wonderful “new beginning”, and I was inspired to use this darling Lawn Fawn stamp set called Elephant Parade plus the Add-On.  I stamped, colored and die cut all of the images to arrange a scene over the arch opening of my card front made with the Lawn Fawn Secret Garden Window die set.

I wanted to keep the colors gender neutral, so I went with mint and yellow type colors.  I blended around the inside edge and white heat embossed the sentiment at the bottom.  I found a very old scrap of decorative paper and ran a stitched cloud background plate die over it.  (I think it’s been retired) This was the background for my window opening.  I added foam tape to the back of the mint card front and attached it to the decorative paper.  Some of the images were glued directly onto the background and some were popped up with foam tape. I’ve added this panel onto a top folding A2 white card base.

I finished out the design with some clear sparkling sequins filled with Stardust Stickles and a few white and black dots with gel pens.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my card today and have been inspired to come join us this month to enter your creation!  I look forward to seeing what you make!  Thanks so much for stopping by as I appreciate you taking the time!  Have a great day!

CHALLENGES:

  1. Simon Says Stamp – Cute Critters
  2. Critter Crazy – Anything Goes featuring a Critter
  3. Time Out – NEW
  4. CRAFT – NEW
  5. My Time to Craft – New in Your Stash (stamps/dies – first used for this card from gift given October 2023)

Late Valentine Share and Looking Into Future With More Calendar Months!

Hello friends!   (Long post with lots of photos!!)

I wanted to share the Valentine card I made for my hubby on Valentine’s Day yesterday, but I couldn’t share it on my blog until after he got it because he can be known to be a “stalker” on my blog to see what I’m up to!!  LOL!

Vicki-BMLoveBug-Valentine

Vicki-BMLoveBug-Valentine-close

I’ve colored up these “wasps” with Copics and for the wings and hearts there is a bit of shimmer on them as you can see in the photo.  For that I have used the Aqua Pigments Valentine Collection plus the Aqua Pigment Pearl for the wings.   I heat embossed the sentiment from the stamp set with EP and I cut the banner myself with scissors and mounted it over the card with the Foam Tape. The little wooden Convo heart accent was added too.  Lastly, I took some Nuvo White Crystal Drops and added a few dots here and there around the hearts.

I’ve cut the “wasps” out with a stitched circle die and mounted it over some cardstock from the kit that was cut with a scallop circle die.

Vicki-BMLoveBug-Valentine-flat

So, for the background of my card, as I had mentioned above, I used the stencil in the background which is a huge heart with several hearts inside of it.  I took some Ink and sponged it over my white card front background.  I was able to take some Nuvo Moonstone Glitter Paste and go over it to add sparkly dimension to it!  LOVE how it turned out!  I stamped a couple more hearts in the bottom corner and colored them the same as the hearts with the “wasps” using the same Aqua Pigments collection.  I also added more dots with the Nuvo White Crystal Drops.  I layered this onto a piece of red cardstock and cut it out with a scallop rectangle die and then mounted this entire design onto an A2 sized top folding white card base.  The envelope underneath was used to house the card in and I embellished it with some heart glitter stickers that was included in the box as well.

Challenges I’d like to enter this above card for:

  1.  Crazy 4 Challenges (C4C470) – Valentine’s Day Card
  2. Crafty Cardmakers – Love, Love, Love
  3. Always Fun – Love/Valentines
  4. Tuesday Throwdown – Falling Hearts
  5. Try it On Tuesday – Romance
  6. Crafting By Designs – Love is in the Air
  7. Crafty Gals Corner – Love is in the Air (Add a Heart)
  8. Creative Knockouts – Love is in the Air

Now if you remember this post I had a few weeks ago where I had started (late of course) making up my calendar pages for 2019 to put in my stamp room, I needed to make up a couple more of them as the time keeps on ticking….

Vicki-TE-March and April Grumplings Calendar

LOL!  These cute Calendar Grumplings from Taylored Expressions so crack me up! 🙂

Oh, I can’t believe we are getting ready to look into the month of March soon!  I think after having so much cold, ice and snow, I’m about ready to see some pretty flowers in my back yard! Yay!

Vicki-TE-March Grumplings Calendar

So, here’s my March calendar and like the entire calendar card set, I’ve used the Taylor Expressions pre-made 3×4 Calendar set for 2019.  I’ve cut down this panel very slightly so that I could mat a black piece of cardstock behind it.

For the image area, I’ve used a rainbow die from Lawn Fawn and cut it out in several different colors to create rainbow strips which I’ve added to the backside of the black scallop frame from the TE Build A Scene – Calendar 2 die set.  I’ve also cut out a strip of grass from the Build A Scene – Calendar die set.  The sentiment (from the same stamp set) was stamped with black pigment ink and clear heat embossed over a strip of vellum which I cut into a banner with scissors and then attached it to the corner of the black frame.

Vicki-TE-March-Grumplings Calendar-close

Here’s a closer view of the image panel.  I colored the image with Copic markers and then cut it out with the coordinating TE Calendar Grumplings die set.   I’ve also added some Nuvo White Blizzard Glitter Drops over the clover.

Vicki-TE-April Grumplings Calendar

And here’s my April Calendar card using the same stamp set, coordinating dies and 2019 pre-printed calendar cards.  I slightly cut the edges to mat the blue cardstock behind it as well.  I’ve used this same color of cardstock to cut the frame from the TE Build A Scene – Calendar Dies.  I stamped the sentiment onto a strip of white cardstock and made a banner with my scissors and attached it behind the frame on the top left side.  (I’ve also used this same die set to cut a couple of clouds and sponged some gray ink at the bottom of each one.

For the bottom of the frame, I took a piece of vellum and cut out that piece from the Build A Scene – Calendar 2 dies.  I took a glitter brush pen to add some sparkle to this piece of vellum, so it makes it look like a “rain puddle” he’s standing in.

Vicki-TE-April Grumplings Calendar-close

For this elephant image, I also colored him up with Copic markers and cut him out with the coordinating dies.  I attached him along with the clouds over the panel where I wanted them to be.  I cut out some “rain drops” with vellum but ended up not being able to see them very well, so I took the Nuvo White Blizzard Glitter Drops and went over them and then created more “rain drops” with it….I ended up liking that effect better, but I had already attached the vellum and just decided to leave it and go over them.  LOL!

There you go, that just tells you that I’m either getting old and my sight is failing me or I just have been continuously crafting until I’m blinding myself!!  ha!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my crafty makes today and I will be back again tomorrow to share a special post with you for a VERY special cause and I hope you can join me to share in this event!!  So please be sure to come back tomorrow!

Have a great Friday evening and thanks for dropping by!

Celebrating at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies With a New Challenge For 2019!

Hello friends!!  Happy New Year to you!!  I hope you’ve enjoyed the celebrating with your family and friends!  Are you excited about a brand new 2019?!  I sure am!  I’ve got lots in store to share with you this year!  Hope you’re looking forward to it as much as I am!!

Let’s start this year off with a brand-new challenge over at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies, shall we?  Every first of the month there’s a brand new “Anything Goes” challenge…BUT you must use a critter somewhere on your project is all!

Vicki-2CCC22-Bugaboo

Isn’t this guy adorable?!  I have used one of our sponsor’s image for my card today from Bugaboo.  This is the Critter Balloons – elephant digital stamp.  I have actually cut him out twice and colored him in, but I cut just his head and the balloon to pop them up with some foam tape for a little dimension.

I’ve made a Center Step Card for my design today.  I kept the dimensions at an A2 standard size when it lays flat so that it will still fit inside an A2 envelope for mailing.

I’ve used some fun birthday style papers from my old stash and then I’ve used a sentiment from My Favorite Things More Essential Sentiments and white heat embossed it over a piece of black cardstock that I cut out with the Die-namics Essential Fishtail Sentiment Strips.  Lastly, I added some silver ribbon above that.

Vicki-2CCC22-Bugaboo-close

Here’s a bit of a close-up to see the dimension over the image.  I’ve also taken a glue pen over the balloon image and added some clear sparkly glitter over it.

Hope that you’ve enjoyed my card today and I’ll be back very quickly with a second post today!

Challenges:

  1.  QKR Stampede – Anything Goes #328
  2. A Perfect Time to Craft – Anything Goes